Chime
by Hikari the Soulweaver
Summary: A simple encounter in which not much is said and endless questions are left in its wake.


**Author's Note: **This was originally written for a crossover contest going on on deviantart. I had considered making this a comic at first, but it was such slow going, so I wrote this instead.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own either Assassin's Creed or Mononoke. They belong to their respective owners. I am merely toying with their characters to satisfy my own fangirlish tendencies.

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_Rome, 1500_

This part of the city was quiet; a rare blessing, given the state of things with the Borgia running rampant and only a small group of shadow-dwellers working to keep them at bay. But Ezio was persistent, and the Brotherhood was growing. It was slow work, but progress was steady.

All in good time.

It was near sundown as Ezio strode down one street. The venders were starting to close up shop and many people were returning home. There were still a few groups of people wandering around, talking amongst themselves, but their conversations were not about anything of interest, so he tuned them out as he walked, making sure to keep his eyes peeled for any signs of trouble.

"Please sir, can you help?"

Ezio paused for a moment, thinking for a moment that the question was directed towards him; it wouldn't be the first time.

"Let me see."

Ah. No, it was someone else. He looked around and his eyes instantly landed on a rather strange sight:

A man was kneeling in front of a young girl, examining a wide, nasty-looking scrape on her arm with all the careful precision of a doctor. That alone was not strange. What was odd was what the man was wearing: a bright blue, knee-length robe with long, billowing sleeves, coupled with a purple head scarf and a pair of sandals that looked more like little wooden platforms that actual footwear.

He watched the man rummage around in a large box at his side for a few moments before pulling out a small clay jar.

"I don't have any money, though," the girl admitted as the man rolled up her torn sleeve and began applying some sort of greenish paste to the scrape.

"It is fine," the man replied, closing the jar and bandaging the girl's arm. When he was done, he said "Run along, now," and watched the girl trot off happily before turning his attention back to his box.

Curious, Ezio approached.

"That was kind of you," he commented, coming to a stop a few feet away from the man.

Narrow, pale blue eyes glanced his way. Those eyes had red marks drawn beneath them, looking very much like tears of blood. A line of the same red colored the bridge of his nose.

"Not kind," the stranger replied. His lips were painted a light purple, making him look a little too much like a grinning fox. "Necessary." The man got to his feet, hefting the large wooden box onto his back with a grunt. He started off without another word, and Ezio, after a moment of confusion, followed.

"So," Ezio said after he had caught up. "You're not from around here, are you?"

Again, those eyes looked his way. "No."

"Are you a traveler?"

"Of a sort."

"Oh, where are you from?"

"Far away."

Ezio frowned in annoyance. Or, rather, he called it a frown; there was no way he would admit to himself or to anyone else that it was a pout. No, no, it definitely wasn't a pout.

An awkward silence fell as they continued to walk down the now mostly-empty street. It lasted long enough that Ezio began wondering why he was following the man at all. After a moment, however, a tiny chime, like the sound of a small bell, caught Ezio's attention.

The man came to a stop. In his hand he held a small metal contraption. It was a small white thing balanced on a little golden point, with what looked like equally small white wings spread out on either side. Suspended below each wing was a miniscule silver bell.

"What is that?" he asked, but the strange man paid him no mind, instead keeping his attention fixed on the thing in his hand.

"You are looking for something." It wasn't a question. Moreover, it was the truth.

"How did you know?"

The man really did smirk at that, making the upturned line of purple curl upwards even further. He held out his hand, indicating that Ezio should take the little white object. He did so, and no sooner had his fingers wrapped around its golden base that it, seeming to take a life of its own, slid out of his grasp and rose into the air for a brief moment before settling onto the tip of his finger like some sort of otherworldly bird.

Ezio frowned. "What is this thing?" he asked again.

As if in reply, the wings of the thing balanced on his finger suddenly tilted to one side with another gentle chiming sound.

"The scales will show you the way," the man responded, not even trying to hide a smile.

Ezio looked up in order to fix the stranger with an incredulous stare. "Show me the way? But how-"

Only the deserted street with its closed shop windows met his gaze.

The man was gone.

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**Author's Note:** And there you have it! A little short, yes, but I am happy with it.

Please leave a review! I thrive off of constructive criticism, but feedback of any kind is loved and appreciated.


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